Attaching means for chair seats



Nov. 16, 1954 R COHEN 2,694,443

ATTACHING MEANS FOR CHAIR SEATS Filed Feb. 2, 1951 INVENTOR. 7ZZ0/i0/Z f2 0/2672 fer/zeys 2,694,443 Patented Nov. 16, 1954 fiice ATTACHING MEANS FOR CHAIR SEATS Morton R. Cohen, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Douglas Furniture Corporation, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application February 2, 1951, Serial No. 209,039

3 Claims. (Cl. 155--196) My invention relates to tubular, chrome-plated furniture, and more particularly to chairs and the means for fastening the seats thereto. Ordinarily, seats of the character considered are rigidly secured to the chair frame. While a chair so assembled may gain stability or rigidity, it assumes a form which interferes with compact packing or shipping. When packing facilities, such as cartons, are scarce or expensive, it is of advantage to pack chairs of the type considered in disassembled or knocked-down condition, in order that the components of the chairs may be nested or otherwise closely grouped. Obviously, with chairs containing rigidly or permanently attached seats, they cannot be grouped as just stated, so that more space is required to pack or ship quantities of the chairs. This makes for more expensive packing and shipping costs.

In departing from the above situation, the present invention has for its main object to provide a tubular type chair with means for attaching the seat at will wherever the chair is assembled, so that the parts of the chair may be manufactured and shipped in separated relation.

A further object is to provide an attachment for the seat of the chair which cooperates with one frame member thereof to form a retentive joint when the seat is assembled with such member.

Another object is to provide an attachment of the above character which employs spring pressure to retain the seat to the frame member of the chair, yet permits the seat to be removed at will.

An additional object is to provide an attachment of the above character which requires only manual pressure to attach the seat to the chair and a simple pulling action to detach the same, all without the use of any tools or extra parts.

An important object is to construct the novel attaching device in a single piece apart from ordinary screws which are employed in connection with it, in order that the device may be simple and economical to produce.

With the above objects in view, and any others which may suggest themselves from the description to follow, a better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a typical tubular chair showing the seat attached thereto in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the showing in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a similar section on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

gig. 5 is a perspective view of the attaching device; an

Fig. 6 is a fragmental section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

In accordance with the foregoing, specific reference to the drawing indicates the outer frame member of the chair at 10, and the inner frame member at 11. As is customary, the side bars 12 of the inner member are snugly nested within the side bars 13 of the outer member, suitable means being employed to secure the members together.

The seat for the chair is shown at 15 and includes a bottom board 16. The seat is designed to be mounted in the assemblies of side bars 12 and 13 of the frame members; and attaching means are applied between the bottom board 16 and the side bars 12.

As more clearly shown in Fig. 5, each of the attaching means just referred to involves a unit made of sturdy but tensionable sheet metal. Thus, each unit has an elongated top plate 20 made with perforations 21 near the ends and designed for attachment to the bottom board 16 from underneath by means of screws 22. The top plate 20 has a pair of pendent side wings 23 which have a limited spread and terminate with oblique inward bends 24. The side wings are also cut vertically as indicated at 25 to permit the outward distension of the material to form a pair of horizontal ridges 26 bulging outwardly from the wings 23.

The application of each attaching unit is directly over and longitudinal of the corresponding side bar 12; and the latter is made with a longitudinal slot 27 directly below the unit.

In assembling the seat 15 with the side bars 12, downward pressure is applied to the seat after the attaching units have been arranged as just described. The structures involving the wings 23, ridges 26 and bends 24 are designed to converge as the down pressure on the seat 15 is exerted; and the dimensions of the slot 27 are such that the bends 24 and ridges 26 will operate as cams to facilitate the forcing of the structures referred to through the slots into the bar 12. The structures of course expand immediately upon entering the bar to the enlarged form seen in Fig. 3, so that they now form re,- tainers against the separation of the seat from the chair frame under normal conditions of handling or use. On the other hand, if it is desired to dismantle the chair, a sufficient manual pulling action on the seat will reverse the process previously described and enable the seat to be removed from the chair frame.

A more specific analysis of the attaching device will now be presented. First, the top plate 20 serves as a thin and sturdy base by means of which the attaching device is secured to the seat base 16; and ordinary screws are sufficient to complete this process. Further, the wings 23 are the tensionable feature of the device, being broad enough to flex readily when the bends 24 are forced through the slot 27. On the other hand, the shortness of these bends renders them stiff enough to perform the camming action subjecting the wings to the necessary tension for gathering them closely enough to permit the comparatively firm ridges 26 to clear the sides of the slot. However, once this has occurred, the ridges serve as locking members to resist tendencies to separate the seat from the chair frame, and only strong pulling action will overcome such resistance. Further, the entire action of the attaching device in either direction may be secured purely by manual application and without the use of tools or extra parts. Finally, the attaching device is stamped or formed from one piece of sheet metal, making for economy in material and production.

While I have described the invention along specific lines, various minor changes or refinements may be made therein without departing from its principle, and I reserve the right to employ all such changes and refinements as may come within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Attaching means for securing a part to a support formed with a perforation, comprising a pair of tensionable wings carried by the part and adapted to be passed through said perforation on the application of the part to the support, inward obtuse bends formed at the leading portions of the wings and serving as cams to procure the gathering of the wings as they pass through the perforation, and rigid enlargements projected outwardly from the wings and serving as stops after they have cleared the perforation in order to check the retraction of said part.

2. Attaching means for securing a part to a support formed with a perforation, comprising a pair of tensionable wings carried by the part and adapted to be passed through said perforation on the application of the part to the support, inward obtuse bends formed at the leading portions of the wings and serving ascams to procure the gathering of the wings as they pass through the perforation, and transverse ridges projected outwardly from the wings and serving as stops after they have cleared the perforation in order to check the retraction of said part.

3. Attaching means for securing a part to a support formed with a perforation, comprising a pair of tensionable wings carried by the part and adapted to be passed through said perforation on the application 'of the part to the support, inward obtuse bends formed at the leading portions of the wings and serving as cams to procure the gathering of the wings as they pass through the perforation, said Wings being of sheet material, and transverse ridges struck in outward direction from the wings and serving as stops after they have cleared the perforation in order to check the retraction-of said part.

References Cited in the file'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 656,196 Lovejoy Aug. 21, 1900 1,226,419 Turner May '15, 1917 Number 4 Name Date West Sept. 18, "1934 Schjolin Jan. 11, 1938 Cenis Dec. 19, 1950 Flora et a1 Jan. 9, 1951 Garber Feb. 6, 1951 Lightfoot Feb. 20, 1951 Bedford Sept. 16, 1952 

